According to the firm, it is the first insurer to offer home and wedding packages which cover legal expenses in the event that a service provider discriminates on sexuality, while the HIV virus is not automatically excluded from medical cover under its wedding and travel insurance.
Steve Wardlaw, chairman of Emerald Life, said: “For me, it is a matter of serious concern that even in these more enlightened times, the LGBT community does not have true equality of experience in the financial sector.
“It is hard for big insurers to be nimble and adapt to the subtle and specific things that matter to the LGBT community; they struggle to keep up with the times. We have designed a solution from scratch where our community will know they’ve been thought about from day one.”
Emerald Life is partnered with white label insurer UK General and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Lloyds of London.
Research conducted by the firm found that 39% of the LGBT community would change call centre language assuming that a partner’s gender is of the opposite sex, while 22% would like to see their insurer actively work to end discrimination and prejudice based on sexuality.
Heidi McCormack, chief executive at Emerald Life, said: “With insurance, it is time to level the playing field. At Emerald, it’s not just about providing a set of insurance products, we want the inequalities we have highlighted to become a thing of the past.”
